Painting of a Baby Emu with attitude

This painting is hand-drawn with ink on paper. It was created for an outback child care business.

The Emu holds a warm spot in my heart that goes way back when I was young. Living on a hobby farm in the outback town called Hay (as in Hay Hell and Booligal for those in the know) my mum was the first stop for any roadside rescues of the wildlife kind. I have fond memories of helping raise baby Emus, Eeny Meeny and Miny, they use to get into so much mischief. One succumbed to a drink from the paint tin, but the others were raised and released.

Now people talk of animals having lasting connections with their rescuers like some mythical tale. Well, we got a call one day from the local policeman informing us that there may be one of ours back in town(Emu that is). On nearing the town roundabout we sighted a large fully grown emu standing on the grassy patch. Such was the lasting connection that dad reversed up onto the roundabout and proceeded to pick the fully grown Emu up and place him in the back of the Landcruiser(not a trailer, not float…). There we were,  sitting in the back seat talking to the Emu as we headed home like it was an everyday occurrence.

If you like Australian animals be sure to check out my Endangered Series at https://rds.ink/endangered-series/

*Comes framed*

Emus are the second largest bird in the world but have tiny, useless wings, however, their legs are long and powerful. They are the only birds with calf muscles allow it to run up to about 30 miles (50 kilometres) per hour. Each emu foot has three forward-facing toes that allow it to grip the ground, thrusting the bird forward. A powerful kick is also handy for keeping predators at bay. For more info on Emus visit https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/birds/c/common-emu/